Message from the Mayor

Two initiatives that have taken shape this year have the potential to deliver great benefits to Redlands Coast and our residents.

Redlands Coast features strongly in a Southeast Queensland bid to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and we will be front and centre of a new tourism strategy aimed at putting Moreton Bay on the world tourism map.

I was able, during a meeting with State Tourism Minister Kate Jones, to convince her of the value of a Moreton Bay tourism strategy, and she has taken up the challenge with gusto. The wheels are turning with meetings already held and I predict big things for the future.

For too long magnificent Moreton Bay and all it has to offer has been a poor second cousin to the Great Barrier Reef and other popular tourist destinations. In many ways it has been taken for granted. We want that to change. Redlands Coast has so much to offer in eco and Aboriginal tourism experiences as part of the new strategy and I am excited about the opportunities and jobs that are at our finger tips.

This is not about turning Moreton Bay into a Gold Coast-type destination, rather delivering world-class ecotourism and Aboriginal tourism experiences that complement our naturally wonderful location and assets. I look forward to working with the government and the numerous local tourism operators to grow this strategy into something that finally delivers the recognition our beautiful bay deserves.

Shooting for infrastructure gold

The prospect of SEQ being selected to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games provides an unprecedented opportunity for long-overdue investment in infrastructure across the region.

While Redland and other councils have for years been collectively lobbying federal and state governments to fund infrastructure, a successful Games bid is seen as the best way to accelerate

the delivery of infrastructure which is needed to keep pace with growth across the region.

The International Olympic Committee has reinvented the bidding and award process for the Olympics, drastically reducing the cost to the point of making it cost neutral for the host. This new approach also reduces the cost of bidding for the Games and makes it possible for a region (rather than an individual city) to host an Olympics, opening the door for Redlands Coast to be part of a regional SEQ bid.

Redland City Council has backed a potential SEQ Olympics bid since it was first mooted because we recognise what it could deliver for our community – namely the transport infrastructure needed to get our residents around the city safer and faster. Specifically we are hoping an SEQ Olympics bid could help deliver a duplication of the Cleveland Rail Line and Eastern Busway, both of which have been on our wish list for some time but are as yet uncommitted to by the State Government.

Redlands Coast has been identified as a location for a whitewater rafting and kayaking facility, with Council undertaking a feasibility study into possible locations. I have also met with the International Canoe Federation and visited the facility in Penrith used for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Council has also met with other potential partners about creating a true legacy that would benefit our community for generations.

These are exciting times for Redlands Coast and, while there is still a long way to go for both of these initiatives, I feel confident the wheels are turning and I look forward to keeping you up to date as they gather momentum.

Mayor Karen Williams

E: mayor@redland.qld.gov.au